It is widely accepted that breakfast is the most important meal of the day a traditional Chinese breakfast starts with a bowl of Congee, a watery rice. Congee can be seasoned to give it a bit of extra flavor, whether sweet, salty or even (if you dare!) spicy. Some people also add vegetables, meat, or mushrooms according to taste.

Another popular Chinese breakfast food is Crullers, also known as “deep-fried-devils:” they are basically twisted strips of dough that have been fried in oil. They are a very popular street food, due to the difficulty in making them compared to simple fried bread.

As China is such a large country, different areas of course have different foods and preferences. A breakfast in South China will often include regional dishes like rice balls, Tofu Puffs with Vermicelli Soup (a soup consisting of fried tofu and cellophane noodles), salted duck eggs, pickles, plain rice porridge (served with numerous side dishes like assalted duck eggs, pickled vegetables, and century eggs), sweet or savory soy milk with fried dough, rice noodle rolls, fried noodles, rice cakes, Chinese hamburgers (thin crispy omelets with fillings folded in turnip cakes), or rice dumplings (another kind of rice cake wrapped in bamboo leaves).

In Taiwan, breakfasts tend to be a mix of Northern, Eastern, and the traditional South-Eastern Chinese fare. This is more pronounced in cities with high proportions of people of mainland Han Chinese descent, like Taipei.

Breakfast is a very good way to experience Chinese culture and their way of life. There are lots of places where you can have an inexpensive typical Chinese breakfast. They’re normally priced to fit the average Chinese worker’s budget, so you won’t have to worry about the bill!